for ages i'd been terrified to do anything out of the ordinary with my appearance - middle school is a rough experience for everyone, i think, and i got the REALLY short end of the stick. but people mature, slowly start to care less about how others choose to express themselves, start to treat others as real people. and now i have friends that love my neon, glow-under-uv-light, radioactive, eye-burningly green hair ^_^ and i love it too !